The events that year were the real driving force behind the mass exodus from the neighborhood. It was the year of the Pecan Man. -- Ora
(Chapter 1 paragraph 15)

Importance: Ora speaks about how the Main Street neighborhood in which she lives has changed over the years, and how the people who live there are no longer the people who used to live there. Much of the area is now run-down as well. It all began, Ora explains, in the summer of 1976 with the Pecan Man. Her explanation of the changing of the neighborhood due to an event during that year is an omen for bad things to come.

It was amazing how quickly things went back to normal, if you can ever call your life normal after such an event has taken place. Blanche told Grace that her ordeal had been nothing more than a bad dream. -- Ora
(Chapter 5 paragraph 1)